How to buy a bicycle

Before you wheel yourself into a bicycle store, ask yourself these questions so you won't be taken for a ride when shopping for your dream bike.

Danielle BraffChicago Tribune

Where are you going to ride? This is just like buying shoes, said Scott Irons, owner of Indy Cycle Specialist in Indianapolis. "There are lots of types of shoes, depending on what you're doing in them," he said. There are also plenty of types of bikes, so you need to decide how you'll use it.

Those who plan on cycling to work or around the neighborhood should get a commuter bike, which has a relaxed, upright riding position for a comfortable ride. Mountain bikes offer wider tires that adapt to off-roading, but they're heavier and will go more slowly on commutes. Road bikes are lightweight with narrow tires but are more susceptible to flat tires. Hybrid bicycles combine features of road and mountain bikes, and there are also folding bikes, triathlon bikes and other more specialized bicycles.

"You're not going to get one that will do everything well," Irons said, so you'll have to pick your primary purpose and go with it.

How big are you? While bicycles are slightly adjustable, you need to get the correct size, or the bike will be useless, said Anthony Mikrut, general manager of Element Multisport in Chicago. "Bike fit is the No. 1 most important thing," he said. "If it doesn't fit, it's not safe. If the bike is too big, it will be hard for you to steer, and if it's too small, it will hurt parts of your body." You should physically sit on the bicycle and let the salesperson fit you, Mikrut said.

How often will you ride? Like cars, bikes have a wide range of prices. Below the $300 mark, most bikes will be low-quality and won't last long, Mikrut said. But most people won't need the bikes that cost more than $1,000 unless they plan on cycling for hundreds of miles every weekend. If you're just cycling to and from work, you'll be fine with a midpriced bike, which will last for a while even if you're not paying top price, Mikrut said.

When will you ride? Most bicycles are not designed to tread through snow and sleet, but there are specific bikes that are designated for winter (many people have winter bikes and bicycles for other times of the year). "It's a whole different ballgame," Mikrut said. But if you have a commuter bike and your neighborhood plows the snow on the roads pretty quickly, then it's possible to use the same bike throughout the year as long as you have fenders. Not all bikes can accommodate fenders, so make sure yours does.

Are you comfortable? After you select a bicycle, you can mix and match the parts of the bike if there's something about it that you don't like, said Steve Walde, master technician at the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., REI store.

"There are so many options that we can hit on," he says.

If you want wider tires and a more comfortable, wider seat, it shouldn't be a problem, for example.

The most important part is finding the style and fit of the bike, but the extras, like seat and wheels are more flexible.